


Travel Home and Take Me Away

by Fanficprincess05



Series: We Are Family [7]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Endgame, Avengers make cameos, Other, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-28 04:59:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18749494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanficprincess05/pseuds/Fanficprincess05
Summary: It’s been five years. Rocket had found himself willing away the hours, hoping to make life end quicker. Turns out, life has a way of simply snapping its fingers and making the pain go away.





	Travel Home and Take Me Away

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, if you have not seen Endgame yet (do you live under a rock?!), do NOT read this fanfiction. There are some pretty big spoilers inside. 
> 
> This is just a drabble that came to me this morning, it's not the best but I do love these two, and watching Endgame has rekindled that love (even though I don't think they share any scenes, haha).
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)

                 Before Rocket left with Thor and Groot for Nidavellir, he spent the night flying with Peter, gazing out into the universe ahead of them as they silently contemplated the mission set before them.

                “We’re screwed, aren’t we?” Rocket mumbled defeatedly, to which Peter snapped his head in the raccoon’s direction aggressively.

                “Don’t you dare talk like that, ya idiot,” he grumbled defensively, to which Rocket perked his ears up. “Thanos might be tough, but we’re the Guardians of the Galaxy. And from what I’ve heard from Mister Lightning over there,” he motioned towards Thor, who was showing off his muscles to Drax, “the rest of these Earth defenders sound pretty tough too.” Smiling confidently, he put his feet up on the dashboard, humming the tune currently coming out of the stereo.

                “Peter, in case I die..” Rocket began, an uneasy feeling settling in his stomach. He was never nervous when it came to missions, but found himself on edge concerning this one, even though he could not place why that was.

                “Buddy, you’re not going to die!” Peter shouted, but Rocket shushed him.

                “Will you let me finish, you buffoon,” he growled, causing Peter to chuckle but stop talking. “I just wanted to say that if I die, well..Don’t dirty my ship,” he finished, causing Peter to let out a large laugh.

                “Really? Out of all the things you could say in this moment?” He said incredulously, getting up and moving towards the raccoon. Putting a hand on Rocket’s shoulder, Peter stared into his eyes seriously. “It’ll all work out, buddy. Soon enough, we’ll be back on the ship together, navigating the galaxy like we have been these past few years. Now quit worrying, okay?” he smiled, causing Rocket to ease a little bit, emitting a smile of his own. “Now let’s go kick Thanos’ ass,” he yelled, causing the group to prepare for separation onto two different carriers.

                Rocket sighed at the group in front of him, who he’d grown close to. His newfound family. Who knew that this bunch of misfits would become so close? And Peter, who was so different from him! How attached they had become on the road through space. He smiled. _Everything really will be okay,_ he thought to himself, joining the others.

                Little did he know that that was the last conversation he would ever have with Peter, and the last interaction with his family.

~

                It had been a long five years.

                He had to force himself awake in the first few months, even years; the weight of it all had made him feel so heavy inside. Luckily (or maybe not so luckily), he had Nebula by his side, and with her help he had slowly begun to feel competent again. But no amount of feeding, medical care or socialization would ever cause him to feel whole again; life would never be what it once was. He had lost everything, and his survival only caused the feelings of guilt and despair to multiply.

                Still, he hid it very well during the day. Natasha, or whatever her name was, had given them all a reason to exist – protecting the world around them. And so Rocket survived, the will to protect the world overcoming the will to die, surely as tribute to the loved ones he couldn’t save. Running from planet to planet with Nebula and resolving conflicts took his mind off of the pain and sorrow he felt inside.

                The nights were not so easy. With nothing to do but sit in his room watching the galaxy go by, his thoughts consumed him and he found himself curling up into a ball, the tears dripping down his muzzle. _Everyone is gone, and they aren’t coming back,_ repeated in his mind over and over. Finally, he would settle into a shaky sleep, his dreams no better than the reality around him.

~

                It all happened so fast. He arrived at the Avengers headquarters on Earth. Suddenly they were rocketing through time and space, landing on yet another planet, chasing a substance so powerful there was nothing to describe it. There was barely even time to mourn the loss of Natasha before there was a snap, followed immediately by an explosion and then Thanos. Chaos ensued and Rocket believed this truly was the end until it wasn’t. Suddenly Thanos and his armies disappeared with a swift snap of the glove, leaving Tony Stark dead and many people very much alive.

                As the dust settled he held on to Groot, although the fact that his wooden friend was there to begin with boggled his mind and caused him to hold on tighter. Groot squirmed uncomfortably, but hugged Rocket in happiness, chanting _I am Groot!_ over and over again.

                “I missed you too, buddy,” Rocket choked, squeezing the tree. “We have so much to catch up on.” Pulling Groot to his feet, they walked through the desolate landscape, witnessing the damage done to the world around them. Buildings were crumbled into dust, the objects inside them reduced to a mere memory. People were in the corner mourning the loss of Tony Stark, and Rocket and Groot bowed their head in silence, joining the crowd.

                “Gamora! Gamora!” Familiar shouts echoed a few miles away, causing Rocket’s ears to perk up. Getting on all fours and running towards the sound, he felt his heart beating quickly in his chest and choked back a sob when he reached his destination. Standing in the middle of nowhere stood Peter Quill, eyes wide with a slightly bruised face, sweat forming on his brow as he searched for Gamora. Little did he know that Gamora was gone, taking Nebula with her.

                “Gamor-“ Peter began but trailed off as he turned and saw Rocket standing above him. Getting up and walking slowly towards the Raccoon, his face belied a wide range of emotions as he got closer, and Rocket could see the tears beginning to form in his eyes. “Rocket?” he said softly, reaching his hand out and touching the raccoon’s ear, almost as if unsure whether it was a dream or a reality.

                “Hey Quill,” Rocket whispered, afraid that his emotions were going to get the best of him, yet trying to remain calm and tough on the exterior. They stood staring at each other for another moment, before Peter grabbed the back of Rocket’s neck gently, placing their foreheads together. At this gesture Rocket found he could not hold back anymore and tears fell gently down his muzzle, hitting the ground under them. Watching the puddle grow quickly in size, he realized that Peter was also crying, his body trembling slightly.

                Peter let go, backing up and taking Rocket’s form in, checking to see the damage his absence had caused. “You look like hell, buddy,” he said, a note of sarcasm and yet concern laced within the statement. His eyes widened slightly as he realized that Rocket was missing patches of fur throughout his body. They were subtle, and would go unseen by anybody who did not look close enough, since they were on areas that could be easily hidden. Noticing that Peter was staring, Rocket bowed his head, suddenly feeling exposed and vulnerable.

                “Rocket, what the hell…” Peter trailed off, touching a bare patch gently with his finger. “Who has been doing this to you?” he questioned seriously.

                Rocket shuffled uncomfortably. “It’s been a long five years, Quill..” he whispered, refusing to look Peter in the eye. “Nebula tried to get me to stop, she tried to give me products to ease the pain and guilt, but I couldn’t handle it. I wasn’t strong enough, and it was all my fault anyways…” he rambled, trying to justify his actions, but Peter’s face became more broken as he went on.

                “You’ve been doing this to yourself? Rocket, I….” Rocket had never seen Quill break down the way he was in this moment. His lip trembling, Peter broke down in sobs, and his eyes showed a sorrow that Rocket had never witnessed in their time together.

                “I’m so sorry..” he finished, grabbing the raccoon and hugging him tightly. Rocket let out a large sigh, feeling a weight lift from his small body. Wrapping his arms around Peter’s neck he squeezed his eyes shut, a sense of comfort and familiarity washing over him.

                “Let’s go home,” Rocket said, and for the first time in a long time, home was where he wanted to be.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments always appreciated.


End file.
